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I’m doing this review without the book in front of me, because I immediately passed it on to one of my students today. As I was reading it I knew she would love, so I made sure she took it home with her to read over the impending snow day. I already know that Luv Ya Bunches will be passed from one girl to another and that’s quite a feat. But it really is the perfect book for tween girls.

The story focuses on four tween girls- Katie-Rose, Yasaman, Violet, Katie-Rose, and Camilla (or Milla for short). They are brought together upon beginning fifth grade. On the first day of fifth grade, Violet, the new girl in town, asks for directions from the wrong people. Peppy and super-friendly Katie-Rose gives directions a little too enthusiastically. Shy and quiet Yasaman happens to pass by at the worst moment. Milla, one of the popular girls, ends up being knocked into the ground. At the same moment, Milla’s lucky turtle falls out of her bag and ends up in the wrong hands- Modessa, the queen bee. Out of these disasters, an unlikely friendship is born.

The story is told by all four girls, in a mixture of narrative prose, stage directions, and online chats. Each girl has her own very distinctive personality and voice, and I loved seeing the story through all of their eyes. I especially love how diverse the girls are- it’s not a standard, cookie-cutter story. I also loved how realistic the girls’s situations are. My 6th graders will identify with the issues brought on by cell phones, cliques, and parents.